Various embodiments of the present invention relate to data processing, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for detecting deviations between an event log and a process model.
With the development of computer hardware and software technology, computer aided systems are able to provide management and support for every aspect of people's life. For example, computer aided software has been witnessed in more and more areas like production management, office automation, etc. Customized criteria may exist in various areas. Technical solutions have been developed for describing the criteria by process models and, based on the process models, managing and controlling flows of transactions like production management. In these technical solutions, a relationship among various phases in a flow may be described using a process model, and it is monitored based on the process model whether each event sequence conforms to predefined process in the actual running procedure.
In the criteria there may further exist additional temporal constraints among phases, for example, phase 2 can be executed only if phase 1 has been executed in advance, etc. However, current solutions fail to check whether an event sequence in each event log satisfies temporal constraints among phases.
On the other hand, the same activities might be executed in different phases. Suppose during diabetes treatment, hemoglobin Alc (HbAlc) might be tested in different treatment phases. Existing solutions fail to distinguish to which phase an HbAlc test belongs, so error might occur when verifying whether or not an event sequence conforms to medical criteria. Therefore, it has become a focus of attention regarding how to detect deviations between an event log and a process model in a more accurate and effective manner.